Case Study: Simplifying data backup

Simplifying data backup

The Challenge

Frontier Smart Technologies started the transition to Microsoft Office365 in late 2017 and by January had migrated all of their staff to the modern workplace solution. However, what was missing was a comprehensive data backup capability and they quickly set about to identify an appropriate vendor to support both standard data backup and disaster recovery.

“I think it’s an easy oversight that Office 365 gives you full backup” explains Neil Bingham, Head of IT Cloud at Frontier Smart Technologies. “It’s a great package with disaster recovery and business continuity but not back-up. We needed something that could support everything; our Mailboxes, OneDrive and SharePoint. The migration tool we used to get data into 0ffice 365 had a rudimentary back-up solution so we initially used that but it was extraordinarily painful.”

Essentially, Frontier needed a safe and secure ‘one stop shop’ for their all data backup.

Why S3 was selected as a partner

“We’ve been dealing with S3 for about 15 years and they’ve been with us on our own transformation journey, from a small business on a single site to where we are today. Over the years we’ve bought a lot of storage from them and have always found S3 to be a great organisation to deal with both in storage and back-up technology. And we have respect for them as technologists,” explains Neil.

He described S3 as “vendor agnostic” and knew that the team would be pro-active in providing a range of options that could support Frontier’s needs to find the best option for them for their backup challenges.

The solution

Although Frontier had been keeping a close eye on the market and knew the vendor landscape well, Neil said he had no pre-conceived ideas about which vendor they would use and therefore considered numerous options with S3. Following careful consideration, S3 presented Frontier with Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365.

“Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 offers a lot of advantages to us. Everything you need is inside the backup file. You can download the software from the Veeam website, install it onto a clean PC, point it at your back-up file and immediately access the backup data. It ticks all the boxes and removes the extra complexity of accessing your back-up particularly in a disaster scenario.”

Frontier's feedback on S3

“I have always liked the S3 approach” says Neil. “They are not pushy Sales types. They provide clear information for you to get your teeth into at your own pace. The team were there when we needed them but also left us alone at times when we were busy. It was the perfect balance”.

He said Frontier will “without a doubt” be working with S3 again. The company has big plans for 2019 including virtual machine backup and a backup solution for moving corporate data into public cloud. Neil is confident that the ongoing relationship with S3 will add a lot of value to these developments.

Neil is also looking forward to more technology events from S3 in 2019, which he says are always “academically interesting” as well as great for meeting a solid range of vendors unlike some of the larger industry conferences.

Benefits of using Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 gives you the power to securely backup Office 365 and:

And according to Neil, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 has “totally removed the extra complexity of accessing your back-up” in a single solution.

About Frontier Smart Technologies

Frontier Smart Technologies is a pioneer in Digital Radio, Smart Audio and Smart Home technologies. The company's blue-chip customers include Sony, Panasonic, Harman, Pioneer, Bose, Onkyo, Denon, Marshall and Pure. In Smart Audio, the company is a leading system integrator working closely with Google, Amazon and Apple. Headquartered in London, Frontier has 140 employees, with engineering, sales, marketing and operations teams in Cambridge, Timisoara (Romania), Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

About S3

Solid State Solutions (S3) formed in 1988 as a Value Added Integrator of Data Storage, Computer and Storage Management Systems. In 2014 S3 was acquired by Capita and has evolved to establish itself as a specialist in identifying and providing bespoke data storage and compute solutions across rapidly changing business landscapes. Our aim is to become the UK’s leading Big Data and Virtualisation Infrastructure Specialist.